IUCN Management Category No category assigned

Biogeographical Province 4.15.07 (Thar Desert)

Geographical Location Comprises a 170km stretch of the Indus River between Guddu and Sukkur barrages in Sind Province. 27°40'-28°26'N, 68°53'-69°46'E

Date and History of Establishment Declared a game reserve on 24 December 1974 (Government of Sind Notification No. WL & FT (DCF-GEN-767) 74).

Area 44,200ha

Land Tenure State (Provincial Government of Sind)

Altitude 50m

Physical Features The Indus and its main tributaries are perennial, the volume of water discharged varying in relation to seasonal meltwater and rainfall. The maximum volume (50%) of the annual discharge of the Indus is observed in the summer monsoon months of July-September and only 15% in the winter season from October to March, when its width varies from 50m to 1km, its current speed from 0.1 to 1.5m per sec and its depth is not less than 6m. As a result of the very gentle gradient of the Indus in the Punjab and Sind, and the enormous quantity of detritus borne downstream, the river bed is raised above the level of the surrounding plains. The river bed comprises mud and sand. Owing to the high amount of detritus, the water is extremely turbid and the visual range from the surface downwards is only about 5cm (Pilleri and Zbinden, 1973-1974).

Climate Water temperature in winter ranges from a minimum of 12°C at night to a daytime maximum of 24°C, while the air temperature varies from 2°C to 35°C (Pilleri and Zbinden, 1973-1974.)

Vegetation The following plants are associated with areas of inundation and marshland along the Indus: Saccharum spontaneum, Phragmites communis, Tamarix dioica, Typha elephantina, T. angustata, Arundo donax, Paspalum ditichum and Erianthus spp. The freshwater flora is limited to planktonic forms.

Fauna The Indus dolphin Platanista indi (E) is a blind cetacean endemic to the Indus River and found in greatest numbers between Guddu and Sukkur barrages. About 150 were censused in January 1974 (Pilleri and Zbinden, 1973-1974), 187 in April-May 1977 (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1978), 241 in May 1978 (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1978), 292 in June 1979 (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1980), 346 in April 1980 (Bhatti and Pilleri, 1982) and 429 in 1986 (Khan, 1986). There is some doubt as to the comparability of these census data due to differences in the reliability of survey techniques; neverthless, it is believed that the population has actually increased following the strict protective measures afforded to the species since 1974 (Khan and Niazi, 1989). Other aquatic vertebrates include turtles (Kachuga smithii, Trionyx gangeticus and Lissemys punctata) and gharial Gavialis gangeticus (E), which locally is almost extinct. Aquatic birds include large colonies of Laridae and egrets. Common species of fish are mali Wallago attu, singari Macrones aor and marakho Catla buchanani, all of which are taken by the Indus dolphin (Pilleri and Zbinden, 1973-1974).

Cultural Heritage No information

Local Human Population Mohanas (Mohammedans of the Jubbah caste) used to catch dolphins, being mainly dependent for their livelihood on the sale of dolphin oil for medicinal purposes and on its meat for food.

Visitors and Visitor Facilities None

Scientific Research and Facilities The Indus dolphin population has regularly been censused since 1974. In 1977, a research project to identify the species conservation requirements was initiated by World Wildlife Fund, with support from the Volkart Foundation in Karachi, and subsequently financed by Sind Wildlife Management Board (Khan, 1981).

Conservation Value The reserve was established for the protection of the Indus dolphin.

Conservation Management Construction of a series of barrages across the Indus River, to supply energy and facilitate irrigation of the Sind Desert, had split the Indus dolphin population into completely isolated groups. Development of irrigation systems in the middle and upper reaches of the river had drastically lowered the water level further downstream, making conditions unsuitable for the species. With the added pressure of hunting, numbers had declined to a perilously low level. On 23 December 1974, all hunting of the Indus dolphin in the waters of Sind Province was prohibited (Notification No. WL & FT (DCF-GEN-762)74) and, on 24 December 1974, the waters of the Indus River between Guddu and Sukkur barrages were declared a game reserve. The species is now well protected within the reserve and no incidences of poaching have been reported in recent years (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1978; Bhatti and Pilleri, 1982). The status of the Indus dolphin further upstream in Punjab Province, however, is critical and it has been recommended that the adjacent stretch of the Indus from above Guddu Barrage to Taunsa Barrage be established as a reserve (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1980; Khan and Niazi, 1989).

Management Constraints At least 50 Indus dolphins are estimated to have been taken from between Sukkur and Guddu each year (Pilleri and Zbinden, 1973-1974) but poaching is now under control (Pilleri and Bhatti, 1978; Bhatti and Pilleri, 1982). There is no large-scale commercial fishing, although a great number of fish are caught in pools left after flooding. This and limited human recreational activity (e.g. bathing) do not seem to be detrimental to the dolphins. Several stretches of the river now dry up in winter and habitat is being reduced as increasing amounts of water are withdrawn for irrigation purposes. Increasing pollution of the Indus from domestic sewage and industrial waste may represent a serious long-term threat (Ali, 1986).

Staff One divisional forest officer/research officer and four game watchers (1980)

Budget Rs 100,000 per year (1981)

Local Addresses

No information

References

Ali, A.A. (1986). The Indus dolphin. In: Carwardine, M. (Ed.), The nature of Pakistan: a guide to conservation and development issues No. 1. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 72 pp.

Bhatti, M.U. and Pilleri, G. (1982). Status of the Indus dolphin population (Platanista indi Blyth, 1859) between Sukkur and Guddu barrages in 1979-1980. Investigations on Cetacea 13: 245-252.

Khan, K.M. (1980-1986). Annual reports of Indus dolphin project. Sind Wildlife Management Board, Karachi. (Unseen)

Khan, K.M. (1981). Wildlife management in Sind. Paper presented at IUCN/SSC Technical Meeting, New Delhi, February 1981. Pp. 7-8.

Khan, K.M. and Niazi, M.S. (1989). Distribution and population status of the Indus dolphin, Platanista minor. In: Perrin, W.F., Brownell, R.L. Jr, Zhou Kaiya and Liu Jiankang (Eds), Biology and conservation of the river dolphins. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Pp. 77-80.

Pilleri, G. (1972). Field observations carried out on the Indus dolphin Platanista indi in the winter 1972. Investigations on Cetacea 4: 23-29.

Pilleri, G. (1980). Secrets of the blind dolphin. Sind Wildlife Management Board, Karachi. (Unseen)

Pilleri, G. and Bhatti, M.U. (1978). Status of the Indus dolphin population (Platanista indi Blyth, 1859) between Guddu Barrage and Hyderabad in 1978. Investigations on Cetacea 9: 25-38.

Pilleri, G. and Bhatti, M.U. (1980). Status of the Indus dolphin (Platanista indi Blyth, 1859) between Sukkur and Taunsa barrages. Investigations on Cetacea 11: 205-214.

Pilleri, G. and Zbinden, K. (1973-1974). Size and ecology of the dolphin population (Platanista indi) between the Sukkur and Guddu barrage, Indus Rivers. Investigations on Cetacea 5: 59-69.

WWF/IUCN Project 1221. Indus dolphin - ecological study.

Date July 1986, updated August 1990